HIMACHAL: RESIDENTS RESENT CLOSURE OF PROJECT FACILITIES FOR HANDICAPPED CHILDREN UNDER SSA PROJECT

A project being pursued under Sarv Shiksha Abhyan [SSA] to help the handicapped children with serious ailments at their door steps under ‘Home Based Programme for children with special needs’ [HBP] has almost collapsed in Sirmour district due to bureaucratic negligence which has been resented by the hundreds of residents of 26 rural villages of Sirmour district.

In separate letters send to Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Mr. Virbhadra Singh hundreds of residents of Dadahu, Nohradhar and Bakras education blocks has requested him to intervene in the matter immediately and ‘put autocratic bureaucracy under control so that benefit of the SSA project could reach to the poor, sick and needy handicap children as per the provisions of the project’.

Interestingly in a uncommon move Dadahu, Naya Panjor, Ghatoin and Sangna Stahan Gram Panchyats in their resolutions adopted in the Gram Sabhas has strongly condemned the move of SSA officers who were putting the lives of over twenty handicapped and seriously sick children in the danger by stopping their medical and other aid being given them under this project for the past one year. They have asked Chief Minister to expand this HBP programme and cover more than 500 handicapped children under this project so that real theme of the project is served. Panchyats had resented the move of SSA officers to crush NGO SIDHI which was providing health care and other services to such children at their door step at its own in the absence of any aid for the past one month.

Mr. Amit Bhardwaj, Vice President of Gramm Panchyat Dadahu and several other residents of Dadahu see conspiracy of SSA officers behind the withdrawal of aid to the 20 children under HBP programme of the project. They said that infact in the budget proposal forwarded by the Nahan office of SSA to state Project Director, expenditure under this proposal was reduced this year for the reasons best known to them. Although 40 children of three education blocks under Nahan and Paonta Sub Divisions were being covered for the past one year under this project but expenditure was demanded for 20 students only. He questioned that when budget was no constrain for this type of proposals under SSA, why expenditure was reduced?.

In the complaints sent to Chief Minister parents of handicapped and sick children which includes Shanti Devi of Jarag village, Roshan Lal of Gata, Champa devi of Naya, Ajmati Devi of Kukrech, Jaino Devi of Bhaturi, Mani Ram of Gajwa and Gulab Singh of Satahan village had said that their handicapped children were getting Physiotherapy, special education, aids and appliances with several other facilities at their door step through the trained teachers and Doctors of SIDHI NGO. Some seriously sick children were being checked up in the Government Medical College Chandigarh by the NGO regularly and children were getting free medicians also. They apprehended if aid of these poor children  was stopped there lives will be in danger as their poor parents were unable to continue their treatment due to bad economic conditions of their families. They have requested Chief Minister to insure benefit of this project for the poor rural people of Sirmour and inquire the matter so that such incidents not repeated in future.

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  1. says: Tribune

    SSA Project
    Withdrawal of facilities resented
    Our Correspondent

    Nahan, May 3
    A project being pursued under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to provide services to handicapped children at their doorstep under the ‘Home Based Programme for children with special needs’(HBP), has almost collapsed in Sirmaur district due to bureaucratic negligence and which has been resented by people of 26 rural villages of Sirmaur district.

    In a letter sent to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, hundreds of residents of Dadahu, Nohradhar and Bakras education blocks, have requested him to intervene and check ‘autocratic bureaucracy’, which would help the poor, sick and handicapped children as per the provisions of the project.

    Interestingly, the gram panchayats of Dadahu, Naya Panjor, Ghatoin and Sangna Stahan have strongly condemned the SSA officers who were putting the lives of over 20 handicapped sick children in danger by stopping them medical aid which earlier was being given to them under the project for the past one year.

    They have asked the Chief Minister to expand this HBP programme and cover more than 500 handicapped children under the project, so that the real theme of the project is served.

    The panchayats had resented the move of the SSA officers so as to crush the NGO, SIDHI, which was providing health care and other services to such children at their doorstep for the past one month.

    Amit Bhardwaj, vice-president of gram panchayat Dadahu, said in the budget proposal forwarded by the SSA to the state project director, expenditure under the proposal was reduced this year.

    Although 40 children of three education blocks under Nahan and Paonta sub divisions were being covered for the past one year but the expenditure was being demanded for only 20 students. He questioned that when the budget was no constrain, then why was the expenditure reduced ?

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